Biodiesel experiences question

[makeitfit]

My trol is a 4.2 1996 oil burner I never put red stuff in , as that's illegal :/
WVO = waste veg oil and as such a no no for me. I can't be doing with all that filtering and cleaning malarky
UK Bio Diesel is a direct replacement on DI engines but not common rail as far as I know. I've been using bio for 3 years in the trol and about 30,000 miles in the truck before that ( Nissan Terrano)
Make sure your glow plugs are in good nick. You'll need to change the fuel filter a few times early on as the bio will clean out the crap from your tank and lines .I carry a spare fuel filter ( but never needed it) just incase.
You can also run on SVO = straight veg oil (new) like rapeseed for example. Often cheaper but will need thining down in the winter with diesel , so the cost advantage diminishes.

[lantastic2020]

Thanks again makeitfit,

I've been away so sorry about that.

So what you're saying is UK Biodiesel is what I'm looking for? Any specific supplier or grade?

I want to be clear for any readers - and correct me if I'm wrong - but biodiesel is a broad term and seems to have many final implementations. All with varying degrees of effect and maintenance levels.

By definition biodiesel is a biofuel that is used to replace diesel (as it's polluting) and is mostly from vegetable sources, is cleaning burning and much better for the environment.

Also, do you recommend replacing the glow plugs and for what type / make?

Thanks.

[Sharky1]

This is a hot topic. If you like your injection pump, turbo, pistons & bores to last then forget biocrap. The money you save now will bite you in the ass later. I used Gull Bio Diesel for yrs & ended up destroying my pump. These types of fuels have nowhere near the same lubrication properties & if you read the formula statistics for these fuels you'll see that they specify NOT to run them constantly but to use them tank by tank with normal diesel.

I guess it's like asking if 91 octane fuel is as good as 98 octane. The answer is a clear NO!!! As an ex mechanic, I'm the guy who used to pull your head apart & it was easy to tell when a motor had been run on good fuel compared to one that hadn't. You might pay more for good fuel but you get better economy & better performance which, in the end pays for itself.

Truth told, my 1998 GU TD42 went better & got good economy with Gull's Bio Diesel & the add the price into that made it irresistable to me. Now I refuse to use it. After speaking to some reputable diesel specialists, I'll never use it again. Of course you could use it with a mix of 200:1 with 2 stroke oil but I doubt the benefits would be as good as using normal diesel. The best diesels I've found are BP & Peak. Gull, Shell & Caltex are all ok but not as good. Of course you always get the odd individual servo who cheekily add their own additives.

The more important & most overlooked question here is: If I'm going to use biodiesel, what engine oil should be using? I can't answer that accurately but it will vastly affect your engine longevity, especially if using bio

[Dai]

Hi Lan, update on my MK 2.8 veg oil conversion

I tried 33% diesel, 66% straight veg oil, it was difficult to start and definitely down on power

It's seems to be happy on 40% diesel, 60% veg oil, so only a small difference in ratio, but maybe that will change as the temperature drops

I have a separate pure diesel tank that I can switch via a solenoid valve , and when warm you really can not notice any difference in performance

It does also seem to be eating glowplugs ! Not sure if that is related to trying to get it running on 66% SWO !

[Sharky1]

The issue you have with vege oil is it's more freakin expensive than diesel. If you know someone who has a fish & chip shop like I do then you're lucky but not coz of the free oil.........coz of the free feed you might get. You need to considerably filter that used vege oil prior to using it. The effort doesn't justify the means in my opinion.

[makeitfit]

Maybe this debate should be clarified as to which country you're in first ?In the UK the cost difference is huge. For example Garage diesel on the forecourt is about £1.35 per litre , SVO is only £0.75 per litre However in the winter that needs a bit of mix up with diesel to stop things geling. You also need good glow plugs and a minute for the engine to warm up a bit.
Bio here is usually more of a black art product rarely available on forecourts. Home brew bio is as good as the maker's interpretation of the recepie . Luckily the guy I get mine from is a good witch and produces brilliant juice and I can't tell any loss of power !
I admit I don't know how much lube content is in it, but my mate drives his VW LT van on it daily doing his deliveries . 40,000 miles a year and apart from fuel filters , no issues

[Plasnart]

Well this used to be a "thing" a decade or so ago, but I don't hear much about it any more (bit like LPG injection too).

Is anyone still running WMO, WVO, Biodiesel? Would love to hear how it all turned out.

@bigguwesty how was your overall experience with the WMO fuel?

Over 10 years ago I had a couple of mates run biodiesel for a while (TD42T's) but they ended up having filtration issues (as explained in one of the very good links above) and got spooked back to diesel.

I'm not interested in making or using alternative fuels but would love to hear first hand accounts of those that do or did.

[Hodge]

I have not heard or "smelled" bio diesel for a long time. There were several places around here you could go and get it from. But haven't seen them sell it for years.
My workmate used to fill his 80 series with it.
It was fish 'n chips day, everyday driving home behind him. The poor old "unbreakable" 1HZ didn't like it. Probably the only 1HZ that needed a rebuild, but he claims it was not the bio diesel being the issue. The rest of us know it was.
The way the motor ran and sounded, it was not good.
There is a farm bloke up Alexandra way running 2 large Cat powered generators and he claims they've ran flawlessly with bio diesel for many years. He swears by it!! He also blends in "used" engine oil with it, from the very same motors after a service.

[growler2058]

I knew an old bloke named Swampy, Pearcy may know him he's from your way. Owned a little earthworks company. Ran his Ford Louisville, bobcat and little excavator on fish n chip shop oil 15 years ago. He went to all the take away joints and took their old oil for free. He wouldn't share the exact recipe, but was filtered and metho added i reckon. Had a tool shed/laboratory in his back yard full of 44 gal drums.

[Plasnart]

I have not heard or "smelled" bio diesel for a long time. There were several places around here you could go and get it from. But haven't seen them sell it for years.
My workmate used to fill his 80 series with it.
It was fish 'n chips day, everyday driving home behind him. The poor old "unbreakable" 1HZ didn't like it. Probably the only 1HZ that needed a rebuild, but he claims it was not the bio diesel being the issue. The rest of us know it was.
The way the motor ran and sounded, it was not good.
There is a farm bloke up Alexandra way running 2 large Cat powered generators and he claims they've ran flawlessly with bio diesel for many years. He swears by it!! He also blends in "used" engine oil with it, from the very same motors after a service.

Yeah the fish n chips smell is the Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) I think. Could have been bio diesel though, I'm no expert. The mates I mentioned had that fish n chip smell going on. Westy was running Waste Motor Oil (WMO) after filtering and magnetic separation (have a read of the link above) and seemed pretty happy at the time. I know his circumstances have changed a lot since he was doing this so I'm not sure if he's continued on with it or not.

Is anybody still into this?

For that matter is anybody still running diesel/LPG?